Tyler, The Creator’s ‘Don’t Tap The Glass’ Is The Dance Party Of The Summer

I entered July thinking I’d spend the rest of summer listening to Clipse’s phenomenal “Let God Sort Em Out” and contemplating giving up my career to try my hand at cooking a brick in the air fryer. So imagine my surprise last week when Tyler, The Creator announced not only that he had new music on the way, but it was dropping on July 20. 

Like most Tyler fans, I was initially expecting a deluxe edition of “Chromakopia,” the album he dropped last fall and is currently touring. Instead, we received “Don’t Tap The Glass”, an album that has quickly established itself as the dance party the summer needed. 

Across 10 tracks, Tyler delivers some of his most energetic and outright danceable music yet. While stories of heartbreak, isolation, and self-doubt filled his last three albums, “Igor”, “Call Me If You Get Lost,” and “Chromakopia,” there appears to be a conscious effort to keep it light this time around. A robotic voice says as much in the album’s intro, “Only speak in glory, leave your baggage at home,” with Tyler yelling “none of that deep s–t,” in the background. 

From there, things get on and popping with “Big Poe,” a rambunctious anthem that has Pharrell fully in his N.E.R.D bag and ends with a killer sample of Busta Rhymes’ “Pass the Courvoisier.” The energy only ramps up with the propulsive “Sugar On My Tongue,” a song so infectious it had me texting my best friend, “Why does this man have me pop locking at 7:30 a.m. on a Monday while trying to get ready for work?” 

The one-two punch of “Don’t You Worry Baby” and “I’ll Take Care of You” perfectly evokes that feeling of a night spent dancing with a lover whose every move can’t help but make you swoon. From top to bottom, the album feels like an expertly crafted DJ set, hitting every vibe you would want to feel during a night out at the club. It’s hard not to have beat tight face during every single one of the album’s 10 tracks. 

I’ve been a Tyler, The Creator stan since 2010, when I was an 18-year-old nerd skating around ASU in Kid Robot t-shirts and neon hoodies. It’s been incredible to see his growth over the last 15 years, from a subversive, teenage troll to a sincere, thoughtful artist. Listening to “Don’t Tap The Glass,” I couldn’t help but be reminded of Tyler, The Creator’s 2015 effort “Cherry Bomb.”

While I’m one of the rare folks who liked that album upon release, I’ll be the first to tell you it’s the most scattershot entry in his discography. “Don’t Tap The Glass” is an equally adventurous work that finds Tyler experimenting with everything from electro, Miami Bass, to New Orleans Bounce music. While “Cherry Bomb” felt like a young man on the precipice of finding his voice, “Don’t Tap The Glass” is the work of a self-assured artist moving with precision. 

Despite the rampant experimentation, there’s a clear sonic throughline in “Don’t Tap The Glass”: 80’s Black music. 

From the clear Zapp and Roger influences on “Sucka Free,” the hook on “Ring Ring Ring,” being a clear interpolation of Cherrelle’s “Saturday Love,” to the Miami Bass stylings of “Don’t You Worry Baby,” the album feels like Tyler trying, and largely succeeding, at modernizing and recontextualizing the sounds that shaped Black music in the ‘80s. 

That fixation with 80s hip-hop and club music is apparent in the steady stream of visuals he’s dropped throughout the week. The video for “Stop Playing With Me” has Tyler, The Creator decked out in a high-fashion take on 80s B-boy style, with two loudspeakers behind him. A shot of him posted up against a red Ferrari is evocative of the cover for LL Cool J’s “Bigger and Deffer.”

This fixation with 80s club music makes sense when viewed through the statement Tyler released explaining why he made this album. 

“I asked some friends why they don’t dance in public and some said because of the fear of being filmed. I thought damn, a natural form of expression and a certain connection they have with music is now a ghost. It made me wonder how much of our human spirit got killed because of the fear of being a meme, all for having a good time,” Tyler wrote in a graphic shared to Instagram.

“This album was not made for sitting still. Dancing, driving, running, any type of movement is recommended to maybe understand the spirit of it. Only at full volume.”

I hope Tyler’s call to the dance floor is answered. As a younger millennial, I had the luxury of growing up alongside the internet. Social media was still fairly new when I hit my 20s, and the idea of your entire life being built for the ‘gram hadn’t fully taken hold. I have fond memories of nights spent dancing in clubs with my friends and lovers, going crazy at music festivals, and having a great time without worrying if I’m going to be labeled “cringe” on some random person’s TikTok. 

I can’t tell you how often I see videos these days of artists going all out at a music festival, only for the crowd of mostly young folks to be completely dead. The few times I’ve ventured out into the nightlife, it’s largely young folks standing against the wall, staring at their phones, and engaging in a quiet competition to appear the most nonchalant. There seems to be a crippling sense of self-awareness for folks younger than me who’ve never known a life without social media. 

Which is a shame! Nights out are meant to be enjoyed! Music is made to be danced to! It’s not about looking good, it’s about feeling good. Especially now, when everything about the modern world seems designed to crush as much joy as possible. 

While it’s popular to lament that hip-hop is dead, I’ve never really subscribed to that notion. From Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, The Creator, Freddie Gibbs, Larry June, Benny the Butcher, Westside Gunn, Clipse, and Nas, there are so, so, so many artists keeping the torch lit when it comes to high-quality beats and rhymes. If you think hip-hop is dead, you just aren’t looking hard enough. 

I will say, though, “Don’t Tap The Glass” is the most outright fun I’ve had listening to a hip-hop album in years and the fan reaction has largely felt the same. 

It appears we’re all in agreement that “Ring Ring Ring” was made for the skating rink. 

I’m proudly part of the “we” in this equation as I’ve been dancing to this album up and down the crib.

If this part of “Big Poe” doesn’t have you wanting to reenact the final dance battle in “You Got Served,” we can’t be homies. 

Soul Sugar is like me for real, for real. 

Reactor King Durag was initially hesitant when he heard it was a dance album, but quickly gave into the rhythm. 

I can’t front, I was worried this was going to be a summer without any certified jams. Don’t get me wrong; Clipse is great, but that album makes me want to blow up my life for my Latina ex who also works for the feds, not get my move and groove on. With Don’t Tap The Glass, Tyler, The Creator delivered a desperately needed call to the dance floor.

For their sake, I hope the kiddos answer it. 

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